“Tim is a year ahead of the market in terms of strategic decisions,” said Laura Martin, an analyst with Needham & Co, who noted that Armstrong turned to programmatic buying earlier than its rivals.

AOL said its Brand Group, which includes media properties like The Huffington Post and TechCrunch, had increased its adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) to $35.6 million in the quarter, from $8.8 million in the same quarter last year. That is partly because of deep cuts at its hyperlocal network of neighborhood websites Patch. AOL handed majority ownership of Patch to turnaround firm Hale Global in January.

The company’s total revenue was $679 million in the fourth quarter beating analysts’ forecast of $655.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net income attributable to AOL rose to $36 million, or 43 cents per share, in the quarter from $35.7 million, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 64 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, which came in above analysts’ average estimate of 60 cents.

Reporting by Jennifer Saba in New York and Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore; Editing by Kirti Pandey, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Sofina Mirza-Reid